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My dog has diarrhea and straining but is acting normal. What to do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 2 years and 5 months old | 28 lbs

My dog has been having terrible runny poop the last few days. She’s not acting abnormal. She’s still being goofy and playing normal. She still has an appetite. She doesn’t typically finish her bowl, so there’s nothing new there. But last night we had to take her out about every 1.5 or so to go to the bathroom. She’ll do a small amount of diarrhea, then strain to do more but nothing comes out. She hasn’t been too interested in her water. I’ve been giving her ice cubes to eat.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Laura Johnson VMD

Veterinarian

Published on April 11th, 2018

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Kika! We sometimes never know why a dog develops diarrhea but some causes are: intestinal parasites, viral or bacterial infections, dietary indiscretion, pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, endocrine diseases like Addison's disease, food allergy or intolerance, reaction to new treat/food/table food. I would fast her for 12-24 hours to rest the GI tract. The resume feeding with a bland diet of boiled chicken or hamburger with rice. Feed 1 cup per 20 lbs per day until 1-2 normal stools. You can also start a probiotic, like Purina Fortiflora. If blood forms in the stool, she won't eat, is lethargic or starts vomiting I would have your Vet examine her. If the bland diet doesn't work I would also have her seen. Ice cubes are fine. Keep offering small amounts of water and ice chips frequently. I wish Kika a speedy recovery!

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I'm sorry Kika has been suffering from diarrhea for the past couple of days! It could be that she is suffering from intestinal worms causing her diarrhea. If she isn't up to date on her deworming treatments, I recommend giving her one such as Panacur or Drontal. She would need another dose of it two weeks after the first one is given to kill all the worms, and then she will need to be dewormed every three months regularly. I'd also recommend a visit to the vet. Whenever a dog has had diarrhea for longer than 24 hours, a vet visit is ideal. If she is up to date on her deworming treatments, it could be she had a GI illness, may have eaten something rotten, or could have a foreign body causing the diarrhea. Having a check up with the vet to make sure everything is good health wise is best for her. I'd call the vet today to set up an appointment. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

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